Old school appraisal anticipated

By GWEN ALBERS Western News Reporter

A Spokane developer considering a $2.5 million to $3 million renovation of the old Libby High School is expected to have an appraisal for school officials to review by next week.

That appraisal would be used to determine the sale price of the vacant 90-year-old building to ConoverBond Development. If the school board turns down ConoverBond's offer, the district will have to pay for the $10,000 appraisal.

The school board in March voted unanimously to allow ConoverBond to get an appraisal for setting the sale price on the old school. The board agreed to pay for that appraisal should the district decide not to sell the building.

ConoverBond hopes to buy and remodel the brick building at Mineral Avenue and Lincoln Boulevard for professional and government offices. The firm focuses on urban redevelopment, including renovations of historic buildings and new construction projects for technology, health care, hospitality and retail.

District officials had said earlier they wanted $350,000 for the building. Empty since 2000, the building was last occupied by Lincoln County Campus of Flathead Valley Community College.

Stevens & Co. in Missoula has completed the appraisal. The results are expected to be discussed this week, said Ryan Romaneski, director of new marketing development with ConoverBond.

"Sometime next week we will share a copy with the school board and start discussing the next step," Romaneski said. "The original agreement with the school board is we would review the appraisal and arrive at a reasonable price."

Although construction costs have increased by about 12 percent over the last 18 months, ConoverBond remains interested in the building, he said.

"We would like to move as quickly as possible," Romaneski said. "The reason Stevens was selected is they have a fairly extensive experience with historical buildings. They did appraisals for Missoula Public School District."

In addition to visiting the site, Stevens and Co. had to look at similar buildings.

"There are no comparable buildings in Libby," Romaneski said. "The appraisal took considerably more time than it should have. They went around the state looking at comparable projects."

Romaneski said he has "personally gone out and talked to folks" who might be interested in the space should the building be renovated.

"We've also had some people provide referrals for other businesses that may turn into leads," he said.